(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Michael Douglas will "never forget" the moment he realised he had throat cancer.

The Hollywood star was diagnosed in August 2010 after experiences problems in his mouth and neck for some time.

He has now discussed the moment he realised he had a serious illness, revealing all it took was a split-second look from one medical professional.

"I found an ear nose and throat doctor in Montreal. He literally opened my mouth and took a tongue impression and I'll never forget the moment when he looked up at me and looked back down and I knew," he told Alec Baldwin, for an interview on radio station WNYC.

Two days later Michael's cancer diagnosis was confirmed. It was rated as stage IV, which is the most severe.

The star had radiation and chemotherapy and announced the tumour had gone in January of this year.

Although he has beaten the cancer, Michael still believes it should have been caught earlier.

The 67-year-old first began feeling uncomfortable at the beginning of last year. He initially thought he'd over-stretched his voice while shooting Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, especially when multiple trips to the doctor didn't throw up anything serious.

"I thought maybe it was from tension, from the part where you haven't placed your voice and how you are swallowing your words and you are speaking from the back of your throat," he explained.

He eventually went to the doctor after the summer and explained he felt something was seriously wrong as his throat was still giving him problems.

"The reality is that if I had been checked back in Jan for head and neck cancer this could have all happened a lot early and the thing with cancer is you want to get it as early as you can," he added.

Michael now plans to spend time with his family as he recuperates. He is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones who he has children Dylan, 11, and eight-year-old Carys with. He also has son Cameron from a previous relationship. (C) Cover Media